We have a 214 Funship - FourWinns Deck boat. We have two kids (6 and 7) and it's great for our friends and family. We've had 7 kids on the boat before, lots of room up front for them, especially with the bow cushions in and they all love riding up front. I think they are great family boats and it's served us well, besides a minor incident here or there, but not the boats fault
We looked at Hurricane boats as well, they are a bit flatter then the FourWinns, SeaRay, Chapparal deck boats and people we know who have them on Winni say you get a lot more splash over the bow on the Hurricanes...just something to note.
As for the deckboat on the big lake, we live on the Broads and sure it can be a bit rough sometimes but on days when it's still a little choppy we go out and it's just a little slower and bumpier, the kids certainly don't mind. But even with a bowrider, anything under 24 feet will still feel bumpy on the choppier days. If it's really windy and choppy we just don't go out and wait for the next nice day.
Also after some time you will see that the lake has some general patterns to it that you can work your boating time around. We have found that going out early or later and avoiding the middle of the day rides is great. Some days we save our boating time for after 4:00 / 5:00. The lake is generally calmer with the wind in the early evening, it's still nice and sunny and warm during the summer at this time and the boat traffic is significantly lower.
Either way good luck with your boat shopping and even before you get a boat I would get a map and start studying it...
